Allen Mesch

Dinner at Cairnwood Village

I had the great pleasure to speak to a group of General Smith’s descendants and interested residents at the Cairnwood Village in the historic town of Bryn Athyn, PA. The October 27, 2015 event began with dinner from 6:30 to 8:00 followed by a hour-long PowerPoint presentation on General Smith’s life.  The event was attended by 45-50 very interested attendees.

Allen giving talk about Major General C. F. Smith

The presentation covered Smith’s life from his time as a West Point cadet through his untimely death at Savannah, TN. Mr. Kurt Wille, General Smith’s distant cousin, presented a brief family history of the Smith family which traces its roots to John Blair Smith, second president of Hampden-Sydney College and first president of Union College. The family counts many doctors as part of its family tree.

Kurt Wille and Allen following presentation

My wife and I were the guests of Ms. Christa Bedford and Mr. Wille.  Kurt has been assisting my research on General Smith for over five years and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the general’s biography. Ms. Bedford is the daughter of the famous painter George Kenner.  Kenner made 110 paintings and drawings during the First World War while interned as a German civilian prisoner of war in Great Britain and the Isle of Man. 

Bryn Athyn is home of the New Church and famous National Historic Landmark District. The highlight of the district is the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. We spent the afternoon before the presentation touring this beautiful church.

Note: Charles Ferguson Smith is Kurt Wille’s first cousin, four times removed. The Reverend John Blair Smith is Kurt’s great, great, great, great-grandfather. John Blair Smith’s oldest son, John Blair Nash Smith, is Kurt’s great, great, great-grandfather and a brother of Dr. Samuel Blair Smith, MDÂ who was General Smith’s father.

I just read several posts on Books and Writers from Promocave.com on LinkedIn about getting people to write book reviews on Amazon.

Reviews are a great way to help other readers. First of all, the reviews help people decide whether to buy the book.  Good reviews may alert potential readers to a “new” book on a subject of interest. Reviews may also present a synopsis of the book and emphasize aspects that they liked or disliked.

However, writing reviews can be difficult for readers who want to keep their thoughts private, don’t know where to begin, and don’t want to offend the author/friend.

If you have ever wanted to or been asked to write a review, here are some questions that will help you get started.

1. What was your favorite part of the book?
2. Who was your favorite character?
3. What was the most interesting plot twist?
4. What happened to the hero that upset you the most?
5. What did you learn from the book?
6. Would you want to be the hero’s friend or lover?
7. Which of the hero’s characteristics did you admire the most or least?
8. Did the book change your opinion about a person, place, or organization?
9. Who would you recommend to and why?
10. What questions were left answered?
11. What emotions did the book incite?
12. Would you read another book by the author?

Authors might wish to suggest answers to the questions or prepare a sample review as an example.

I hope these ideas might prompt you to post a review on Amazon. You might consider starting with one of mine.

The Kindle version of Teacher of Civil War Generalsis now available from Amazon.

#317 in Books; Biographies; Memoirs; Professionals; Academics; Educators

#560 in Books; Biographies; Memoirs; Historical; United States; Civil War

#654 in Books; History; Americas; United States; Civil War; Campaigns & Battlefields

My wife and I reviewed the proofs and made corrections to about one-third of the pages. We sent the changes off to McFarland and are waiting for the book to arrive.

In the meantime, I have been assembling information to help market the book.  My list includes magazines and papers that review books,  universities that offer courses on the Civil War, and Civil War Roundtables.

Please contact me, if you would be interested in having me speak to your group.